Updating The Neuron Doctrine
While the neuron doctrine is a central tenet of modern neuroscience, recent studies suggest that there are notable exceptions and important additions to our knowledge about how neurons function.
Electrical synapses are more common in the central nervous system than previously thought. Thus, rather than functioning as individual units, in some parts of the brain large ensembles of neurons may be active simultaneously to process neural information. Electrical synapses are formed by gap junctions that allow molecules to directly pass between neurons, creating a cytoplasm-to-cytoplasm connection.
Furthermore, the phenomenon of cotransmission, in which more than one neurotransmitter is released from a single presynaptic terminal (contrary to Dale's law), contributes to the complexity of information transmission within the nervous system.
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